Jorge Chávez International Airport (IATA: LIM, ICAO: SPJC, formerly SPIM), known as Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez in Spanish, is Peru's main international and domestic airport. It is located in Callao, 11 kilometers (7 mi) from the Historic Centre of Lima and 17 km (11 mi) from Miraflores. Callao is the port city now fully integrated with Lima, the nation's capital. In 2008, the airport handled 8,288,506 passengers and 98,733 aircraft movements.[2] In 2009, the airport handled 8,786,973 passengers and 104,966 aircraft movements,[3] which although small, was one of the fastest increases in the Americas. Between January and November 2010 the airport handled 9,361,846 passengers[4] and by the end of 2010 the airport reached 10,278,493 passengers.[5] During 2011 the airport served 11,904,553 passengers, growing over 16% when compared to the previous year. During 2014 the airport served a record of 18,170,035 passengers. For many years it was the hub for Compañía de Aviación Faucett—one of the oldest airlines in Latin America—and Aeroperú, both now defunct. Now it serves as a hub for many aviation companies. The airport was named after Peruvian aviator Jorge Chávez.

The first airport of Lima was the Limatambo Airport, located in San Isidro, which ceased operations in 1960 due to lack of space and capacity to handle the increasing flights. In that same year, the Lima-Callao International Airport began to operate in Callao. In June 1965, the airport was renamed as "Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez" after the famous Peruvian aviator Jorge Chávez Dartnell and in December 1965, the current terminal building was inaugurated. In 2001, in order to improve and expand its infrastructure, the airport was approved by the Peruvian government to Lima Airport Partners (LAP), now composed of Fraport and two other minor partners, retaining the air traffic control managed by the Peruvian Corporation of Airports and Commercial Aviation (CORPAC). The key legal advisers in the transaction were Jaime Malagón, Jerome Jakubik, Paul Slocomb, and Víctor M. Marroquín of Baker & McKenzie, the international law firm retained by the Peruvian Government to advise on all privatization processes. Over time, the airport showed signals of decay, lack of space for passengers and outdated technology in radar and safety.

In February 2005, the first phase of a new renovation and expansion project was completed, including the Peru Plaza Shopping Center and the new concourse. In June 2007 a four-star hotel opened in front of the terminal, 'Ramada Costa del Sol'. In January 2009, the second phase of the terminal expansion was inaugurated. Currently the terminal has 28 gates, 19 of them with boarding bridges. In August 2009, Jorge Chávez International Airport announced that they should receive a new ILS CAT III in 2010 to help with fog landings in Lima.[6] The construction of a second runway is another very important project and is scheduled to be completed in 2014. Tourism and commercial passenger traffic has increased in Peru dramatically, and it is predicted to double in 2011; this growth will be higher than anywhere else in Latin America.[7] 'Arquitectonica", a Miami-based architectural office and Lima Airport Partners set out to approved the construction of a second terminal and the further expansion of the main terminal.

The expansion and renovation of the airport has had a significant positive impact on the quality of services provided to passengers. In April 2010 it was presented the "Best Airport in South America 2010" award,[8][9] by United Kingdom-based commercial aviation consultancy Skytrax.[10] Skytrax presents the World Airport Awards annually after conducting surveys to 9.8 million airline passengers worldwide.[11] The airport received the award once again, for the fourth consecutive year, in 2012.[12][13]

In addition to the award presented by Skytrax, Priority Pass,[14] the world's largest independent airport access program, announced in March 2010 that Sumaq VIP Lounge[15] had been voted by its members "Lounge of the Year 2010"[16] for second consecutive year among 600 VIP lounges in the world.[17][18]

Along with the airport expansion Lima Airport Partners added a four star hotel, 'Ramada Costa del Sol', right in front of the control tower and the arrivals exit. The hotel is built with noise canceling panels as well as a restaurant, a pool, business center, spa, beauty salon, gymnasium and a bar. The hotel has begun a construction process in 2014 to increase its capacity.

Located on the second floor, the food court has outlets of: McDonald's, Papa John's, Starbucks and others, there is also a Dunkin' Donuts next to the main entrance of the terminal. They are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as this airport has no closing time. There is also a place (before security check and after entering the airport through a secured parking lot area to go to baggage check) with various ice cream flavors with some special flavors from Peru, such as Chirimoya and Lucuma. There is a way to the food court without having to go through security check.

Jorge Chavez Airport has various VIP Salons in the departures terminal, such as "VIP Peru", a luxury waiting room with bars, tables, and other amenities. For passengers in First class, there is an exclusive salon near the gates,"VIP Club". And renovated the "Sumaq VIP Lounge", a lounge exclusively for first and business class passengers nominated as the best VIP lounge of the year by the survey of the "Priority Pass" VIP Network.[citation needed]

Jorge Chávez International Airport is home to Lima Cargo City, a hub for cargo airlines. The 35 million dollar project was completed and began operations on 12 May 2009. This cargo terminal is among the largerst cargo centers in Latin America.

Transportation between the airport and city provided by taxis is a most common way of commute, for security reasons, visitors are recommended to take only those taxis offered by registered companies at the airport arrivals area, it is also possible to request a taxi service by smartphones applications this is a reliable service too and with standard rates. It is also possible to rent a car, there are several companies at the international exit gate that offer this service.

November 27, 1962: Varig Flight 810, a Boeing 707-441 registration PP-VJB flying from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Jorge Chávez International Airport, after initiating an overshoot procedure at the suggestion of the control tower because it was too high, proceeded to start another approach when it crashed into La Cruz peak, 8 miles away from Lima Airport. Possibly there was a misinterpretation of navigation instruments. All 97 passengers and crew aboard died.[25][26]

December 8, 1987: a Peruvian NavyFokker 27-400M registration AE-560 flying from Pucallpa to Lima Jorge Chávez International Airport chartered by the Alianza Limafootball team crashed into the Pacific Ocean shortly before landing. A malfunctioning cockpit indicator made the crew believe that the landing gear was not properly deployed and locked, so they requested the control tower to make a low pass for a visual check by ground personnel. After receiving the confirmation that the landing gear was down, the aircraft circled the airport for another attempt to land, but plunged into the ocean instead, killing all on board except the pilot, who was the only survivor.[28]

April 15, 1995: an Imperial Air Tupolev Tu-134A-3 registration OB-1553 flying from Cusco to Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport suffered a tyre failure after departure. The crew decided to continue the flight to Lima, but the left main landing gear did not extend during landing. There were no fatalities, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.[30]

On October 11, 2013 an Airbus A320 (registration N492TA) from Taca Airlines, made an emergency landing at 8:20am Local Time. The pilot declared an emergency due to smoke in the cockpit. The aircraft was en route from Jorge Chávez International Airport, LimaPeru to El Salvador International Airport, San Salvador, El Salvador. There were 31 passengers plus crew on board. The aircraft landed safely.[32]